That's What Friends Are For
by devilssmile666
Summary: Major Spoilers for Dead Doll...summary inside. GSR!


**That's What Friends Are For**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing...if I did Jorja Fox would stay on CSI!

**Spoilers:** All of the miniature episodes; Living Doll; Dead Doll

**Summary:** While Sara is in the hospital after her abduction, Grissom is a nervous wreck. Who will help him pull through?

**A/N:** This fic was written for **The Queen of Sin**. She PMed me with this idea and I told her I'd write it. Here you are Chickie...hope you like it!!

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"Gil, how is she doing?"

Grissom snapped his head towards the doorway as a cool, female voice drifted into the room. Her voice bounced off the white, sterile walls of the hospital. When he looked, he saw a woman standing in the doorway, dressed in all black. Her dark hair was down and fell just below her shoulder blades.

"Heather, what are you doing here?" Grissom asked after the shock disappeared. "How did you know she was here?"

Heather Kessler walked into the room and pulled up a chair next to Grissom. He unconsciously moved towards the woman who was sleeping in the hospital bed. He then grasped the hand that was not in the cast gently.

"Gil, I _do_ watch the news," said Heather, her silky voice tinted with amusement. "It was all over the television and in the papers...here's an article if you're interested."

She handed him a newspaper and he opened it up. He saw Sara's photograph on a page, and next to it, the headline read: _**CSI Found in Desert**_

_Two evenings ago, CSI Sara Sidle went mysteriously missing. The CSIs only clue as to where their colleague was was a miniature replica of the desert she was in._

_Natalie Davis, 32, had been making perfect, half-inch scale models of the crime scenes she had committed. Her final miniature was of CSI Sara Sidle trapped underneath an over-turned Mustang. Sidle managed to free herself of her prison and was wandering around when she collapsed from heat exhaustion. Nobody knows how long she had been out of it, but CSI Nicholas Stokes and Detective Sophia Curtis were drive around when they spotted her. Stokes had seen a light reflection off of a mirror she had been carrying around with her. CSI Sidle was airlifted to Desert Palm, where a source said she "opened her eyes and squeezed her supervisor's hand."_

_We have no news on the extent of Sidle's injuries, but her doctors say she will make a full recovery._

Grissom turned his gaze to Sara, who was asleep from all the pain killers they were injecting into her. Plus, she had come from surgery, and the anesthetic hadn't worn off. Grissom caressed her hand and gently laid it down on the bed so he could effectively look at Heather.

"How are you holding up?" she asked gently, wrapping his hand in hers.

"I don't know Heather," he said with a sigh. "I almost lost her...I still can't shake that feeling."

Heather looked at him sympathetically and said, "But she's right there, flesh and blood. She's not going anywhere, Gil."

"I can't help but think this whole thing was my fault," he said, rubbing his hand over his face.

"How in the WORLD is it your fault?" asked Heather, her face screwed up in genuine confusion. "This woman – Natalie, is it? – wanted to put Sara under a car...not you."

"But she said that Ernie killed himself to protect her," he said. "If we weren't so close to finding out it was her, he wouldn't have killed himself, and Sara would be safe. This girl wanted to cause me as much pain as I caused her, so she stuck Sara under a car in the middle of the desert."

"Gil, she psycho!" exclaimed Heather. "Did you tell her to make the miniature models?"

"No."

"Did you tell Ernie to kill himself to protect her?"

"No."

"Did you tell her to kidnap Sara?"

"No."

"Did you place her under that car?"

"No."

"Then none of this was your fault," she said firmly. "Gil, you cannot blame yourself for something you didn't do."

He sighed and said, "Thank you for that...I'm gonna get some coffee, you want any?"

"No, thank you," she said.

He left the room, and Heather scanned over Sara's bruised body. She sighed and said, "Sara, wake up. Gil's a mess right now...he needs to know that you're safe."

As if on cue, Sara's eyes opened. She blinked several times until she could focus. She saw a familiar face and asked groggily, "Heather. What are you...doing here?"

"I stopped by to see how Gil was holding up," she answered. "He's a nervous wreck at the moment. He's blaming himself for what happened."

"How the hell is it...his fault?" she asked, shock registering in her hoarse voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Heather. "Would you like some water?"

Heather handed Sara a bottle of water, and she drank greedily. After thanking her, Sara asked, "How could he blame himself? He didn't make any of those miniatures. He didn't tell Natalie to do all that crap."

"That's what I told him," said Heather. "I think I got through to him."

"Where is he, anyway?" asked Sara.

"Oh, he went to get coffee."

"Uh, thank you...for staying with him," said Sara quietly. "He really needed a friend at the moment...thanks."

"He helped me, so I'm helping him," said Heather, "that's what friends are for. Sara, he really loves you. He hasn't moved from that chair since you've been in here."

"I know," she said, a shadow of a smile flashing across her mouth.

Suddenly, the hospital door opened, revealing a fatigued Grissom. He froze when he saw that Sara was awake and talking with Heather. He quickly strode over to the bed and asked her how long she had been awake.

"Not long," Sara responded. "Gil, I want you to know that this whole ordeal was _not_ your fault."

"I think I know that now," he said, a smile gracing his lips. "I'm glad you're awake, Sara...you don't know how worried I've been."

Sara snuggled into his arms and said, "I've got a pretty good idea."

"I'll leave you two alone," said Heather, smiling at the happy couple.

"You don't have to," said Sara.

"No, it's okay," said Heather. "You two need some alone time...Gil, you've got a good woman in your arms. Don't let her get away."

"Don't worry...she's stuck with me," he said, kissing the top of her head.

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**A/N 2:** Hey y'all...hope you liked it. As I said, this was written for **The Queen of Sin**...hope you liked it chickie! Please leave a review to tell me whether or not you guys liked it!

I broke my finger, and a review might help the searing pain to stop.


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